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Boris Johnson has first committed to an “independent investigation” into the coronavirus pandemic.
The prime minister said it was not correct to spend “large amounts of official time” on an investigation when the UK is “in the midst” of a pandemic.
But he said the government will seek to learn lessons “in the future” and “we will certainly have an independent investigation into what happened.”
He was answering a question from Lib Dem’s acting leader, Sir Ed Davey.
The prime minister has repeatedly rejected calls by the opposition for an investigation into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
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In the Prime Minister’s questions, Sir Ed said: “Under this Prime Minister we suffer one of the worst death rates in the world and the worst death rate in Europe for health and care workers.
“He previously rejected my demand for an immediate independent investigation, saying it was too soon, although in 2003 he voted for an independent investigation into the Iraq war a few months after the conflict began.”
“If you still reject an immediate investigation, will you commit in principle to a future public investigation?”
The prime minister promised an independent investigation, but did not mention a public investigation, which would involve public hearings and witnesses who testify under oath, in his response.
This is a fairly significant moment.
We know from past research, like the Iraq investigation or Leveson’s media investigation, that they can shape the reputations of the most powerful and investigate their deepest thinking in times of crisis in a way that is often difficult to do through from the normal scrutiny of politicians and journalists.
But there are many unanswered questions.
We still don’t really know what the prime minister was referring to when he spoke of an independent investigation, which could be a full investigation led by a judge or it could be a smaller-scale investigation led by an academic or perhaps a select committee.
We don’t know the deadline. The prime minister has indicated that he does not think we should conduct the investigation while we are still dealing with the coronavirus, but that means that it could take months, even years, if we have to wait to actually eliminate the virus or get vaccinated.
We don’t know the scope of the investigation or the authority: will it be the type of investigation where witnesses are questioned by lawyers led by a judge?
My guess, and it’s just a guess, is that it will have to be of a stature and authority similar to that of the Iraq investigation.
Sir Ed’s rival for Lib Dem leadership, Layla Moran, who chairs an all-party group on the coronavirus, called on the prime minister to “commit to a public investigation now, not to put it on the grass.”
“There is no time to lose, we must learn the lessons of this crisis before a possible second wave this winter,” he added.
‘Aware of the report’
During PMQs, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer pressured the prime minister on whether he had learned the lessons of a report this week, which warned of 120,000 new deaths from coronavirus in a second wave of infections this winter.
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“One of the key recommendations in this report commissioned by the government science office is that testing and tracing capacity should be significantly expanded to cope with increasing winter demands,” said Sir Keir
“The reality is this: trace and track does not work as promised today.”
The Labor leader questioned whether the prime minister had read the scientists’ report.
Johnson said he was “aware of the report” but accused the Labor leader of “unceasingly hitting people’s confidence in this country” with criticism of the government’s approach.
“Once again it attacks the test-and-trace operation that operates on an absolutely unprecedented scale,” Johnson told lawmakers.
He added: “Our test and track system is as good as or better than any other system in the world and yes, it will play a vital role in ensuring that we do not have a second peak this winter.”
‘Kidding nobody’
Sir Keir said it was “perfectly possible to support tracking and tracing and pinpoint problems.”
He told the prime minister that “standing up every week and saying it is a ‘surprising success’ does not fool anyone, that does not give people confidence in the system.”
“They would like a prime minister to stand up and say ‘there are problems and this is what I am going to do about it.’ It is not this rhetoric about ‘surprising success’ when it is obviously not true,” he added.
Johnson accused the Labor leader of constantly shifting from supporting the government to attacking him, with a blow to Sir Keir’s old profession as a lawyer.
“You need to decide which report to take today because you have more reports right now than Calvin Klein.”
